Summer Fireplace

Our fireplace has always been a thorn in my side.  

It's an ode to electronics, namely a Texas-sized plasma TV...

...and the sub woofer thingie that MUST sit on the mantle in the center for optimal sound quality (all this according to Mr. FYN)

*SIGH*

I've tried decorating around it, but anything I do always seems to compete with the "technology".  So what's a girl to do?

Decorate under it!  We can't have a fire anyway, because it might melt his baby (Mr. FYN and his plasma always reminds me of Lord of the Rings....Gollum....."the precious"! )

So, I just filled the firebox with some of my favorite things.  It's like my own little "cabinet of curiousities"!  

In the process, I uncluttered the lamp table.  Here's what it looked like BEFORE...

Lots of "stuff"!

And here it is AFTER...

Simple....it can "breathe"....

And I made these little cuties...

The one in the center holds part of my sea glass collection.  I don't know what I'm going to do with them yet.  For now, they're hanging out on one side of the mantle.

Happy Friday everyone and have a wonderful weekend.  Don't forget to link up to "Shop The House Sunday" tomorrow!

Now THIS is a giveaway!

Go check out the "Shellapalooza" giveaway over at Tales from an OC Cottage!

She's handcrafted several items and they are beautiful!

A few of my faves...

I don't even want to think about how much time this took to put together!  Isn't it lovely?

Totally GLAM starfish!

Love this!  

So go check out this awesome giveaway!  HURRY, it ends tomorrow!

Sometimes you just need a little rearranging

In my effort to get rid of non-essential "stuff", I did a little rearranging in my foyer yesterday.  

Here's what it looked like BEFORE...

I look at this now and think "dustbunnies".  There's a LOT going on with this arrangement and it hurts. my. eyes...

Here is the simple, elegant AFTER...

This chest used to be in my dining room but it was hidden by the massive dining table.  Now it's the first thing you see when you walk in the door.  All items in the tablescape were things I already had, so this was a FREE makeover!

I need your opinion.  I had to put the turquoise garden stool in front of the left side of the chest. Why?  There is a crack in the glass and I have no idea how to fix it since the mirror is made of antiqued glass instead of regular.  

So, do you like the lantern on top of the stool?

Or the big ball?

This mirror was on the wall the chest is on now.  I like it here in the nook under the stairs.  I took all the driftwood off the tops of my kitchen cabinets.  This is just part of my driftwood collection in a tall basket.  I like the "sculptural" effect.  See that air vent peaking out from behind the arrangement?  Why oh why would a builder put a return air vent in a spot where EVERYONE can see it?!  This arrangement covers it pretty nicely.

I used another piece of driftwood on top of the dining room table...

So that's my little makeover.  It took me about an hour using items I already had, which makes me a happy girl and my husband pleased as punch that I didn't spend any money!

I'm linking up to:

The Penny Pinching Party at Thrifty Home!
Spotlight Yourself at Its So Very Cheri!
Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps On The Porch!
Show Off Your Stuff at Fireflies & Jellybeans!

Scrappy weekend

Good morning everyone!

Sorry "Shop The House Sunday" wasn't up this weekend.  I was out of town and forgot to put it up before I left!  Save your projects and link up this weekend!

So where was I?

I went to a scrapbooking retreat with 2 friends.  What fun we had!  The retreat was in the darling little Texas town of Montgomery, which is just north of Houston.  I've never made a scrapbook but have always loved looking at all the cute stuff at craft stores.  

These ladies are SERIOUS about their scrapbooking!

Of course I felt totally inadequate with my one little plastic tub of stuff.  Am I a scrapbooking convert?  Probably!  This weekend inspired me!

In addition to the retreat, the town was having an antiques fair and festival.  

I wanted to follow, but I resisted!

It was a little warm on Saturday.  Poor little guy!

A gift shop in town with all things Texas and a wonderful selection of Texas vino.  Who can resist wine by the name of "Jackass Blush"?!

So have a wonderful week everyone!  I'll be posting this week on the decorating job I'm starting for a friend's master bedroom!

My new venture!

I haven't been blogging as much as I would like, but there is good reason.  In addition to being a quasi-decorator, I have ventured into the world of photography!  

I did my first photo shoot last week for a friend's dance company.  It was a grueling 3 hour shoot, but so much fun!  They wanted edgy photography for their website.  

Here are some of my favorite images from the shoot!

Of course it's really easy to take good pictures when you are working with such beautiful subjects!

It will be interesting to see where this leads me!